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The Happy Movie - Screening

All available tickets have been sold. There will be a ‘Rush Line’ located at the drama theater, building 16, for tickets that will become available prior to the screening.

DFI’s Community Outreach division is hosting two screenings of Academy Award Nominated director Roko Belic’s film, ‘Happy’. The film sets out to answer the questions of what makes us happy and travels to diverse regions to unlock the secrets of our most valued emotion. To attend this unique free screening please register at the following links:

Date: 11 February 2012
Screening Time 1: 12:00 – 2:00 PM
Screening Time 2: 4:00 – 6:00 PM

Meet members from the community who pursuit their happiness and benefited their society. DFI presents:

Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al-Thani
Co-founder of Musafir.com, an entrepreneur, adventurous traveler, and a passionate photographer. Moe Al Thani is an intrepid traveler with an instable appetite for adventure. Will climb Mount Aconcagua for “Reach Out To Asia” Trek through some of the most rugged and beautiful scenery in the World, a young Man from Qatar/UAE who likes to discover nature, push his limits, and test his commitment to reach his goal.

Mohammad Al Thani

Interview with Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al-Thani

DFI: Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al-Thani: I am the first Qatari to climb mount Vinson, which is the highest peak in Antarctica, at 4892 of altitude and 50 knots winds. My ambition is to climb the rest of the world’s top Seven Summits, for the various charitable activities I am involved in, including being the representative and the ambassador of (ROTA), Reach Out To Asia, in Doha.

Following a Masters degree in business management at the American University in Sharjah, I realised that one of my many ambitions was to climb the rest of the world’s top Seven Summits. Besides that, I am involved in tourism, as chairman of the first touristic website in the region: musafir.com, and being an Air Arabia board member, and the manager of the largest paint ball field in the region, as well as managing other businesses such as provisioning, hospitality and advertisement.

DFI: Why did you choose this field?
Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al-Thani: I grew a passion for mount climbing, during one of many adventurous sports trips. I was in Nepal with friends, and I was amazed at the beauty of the Himalayas, which created in me this urge for more adventurous trips and climbing the world’s top Seven Summits. And so I did climb Kilimanjaro twice, and the base of Mount Everest, to raise awareness for the fight against Malaria, which is the first cause of death in Africa. I have also climbed Mount Aconcagua of the Andes mountain range, which rises to an elevation of about 6962 m, with ROTA. And in September 2011, I have climbed Mont Blanc, which is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe, rising 4892 m above sea level. I’ve also climbed Mount Vinson in Antarctica, which rises 4892 m. I am planning to climb Mount Bross in June 2012.

DFI: What inspires you in life?
Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al-Thani: By persisting on challenging my endurance, I hope to become a role model and an inspiration for our local youths. I wish they would find in me, an example of how can one succeed by challenging himself, moving forward and holding to his dreams. The most important is how can they chose the right field of work, and do what they’re best at, and do it with passion. This is the key to success.

DFI: Tell us about the challenges.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al-Thani: It is difficult to take a decision and move down, few meters before reaching the peak, during bad weather. It’s when you either continue climbing or face danger, or retreat. I’ve also had many challenges when I was climbing Mount Vinson, which rises 4810 m and is the highest peak in Antarctica, with hostile climate, and -60 degrees, as well as winds at 50 knots.

The mountain is considered the 7th most dangerous mountain climb in the world. its isolation, combined with the extreme cold and unpredictable weather on the Antarctic continent, makes climbing Mount Vinson a very serious undertaking.
Climbers should be well experienced and very fit. Climbing up could continue for 8 hours a day. Climbing down is also a continuous trip, of 6-7 hours a day, while carrying a 30 kg back pack.

DFI: What is your advice of those aspiring for happiness?
Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdullah Al-Thani: Hold on to your dreams, till the end. Don’t give up easily, no matter what the challenges are. This is how you can succeed and reach happiness.

Maryam Al Subaiey
A woman of many traits, after she stopped blogging she focused on writing for children through a series of books and a magazine in the making. A writer and producer for the new QTV, one of the owners of Innovation Productions and campaign manager for ‘We all read’ campaign. She is also an active volunteer for INJAZ Qatar and World book day and an aspiring jewelry designer. Her passion for development is what made her get an MSc in Development studies from University of London. She won first prize for Booking Center essay contest, her essay was about ‘Qatarization policy, implementation challenges’. Co-founder of “U-Change” organization.

Mohamed Al-Suaidi and Maryam Al Subai

Interview with Maryam Al Subaiey

DFI: Tell us more about yourself and what you do.
Maryam: “Enta Ghair” is a youth foundation aiming at empowering Qatari youths and raising their awareness, through various programmes that encourage them to express themselves, learn, showcase their work, exchange their ideas and incite dialogue and sharing ideas.

At the foundation, we issue a periodical that promotes Qatari youths and youth clubs, inside and outside Qatar. Our foundation’s aim is to embrace creative young Qataris, to convey their true and impressive image.

DFI: Why did you chose this field?
Maryam: We created “Enta Ghair” foundation to incite the youths to participate in the process of change, and promote those who took part as role models. We believe that we have a valuable message, within the development of the country, which maintains Qatar National Vision 2030. We believe that the youths have a significant role in contributing to the success of this vision.

DFI: What inspires you the most?
Maryam: We inspire each other. This is what we are trying to promote at the foundation.

DFI: What are the challenges you face?
Maryam: Sometimes it’s hard to acquire funding for our programmes. It is also hard to push those who are not used to participate in activities, to take part in the programmes. But at the end of the day, we achieve our goals.

DFI: What is your advice to those who aspire for happiness?
Maryam: Follow your dreams and your heart, even if it seems difficult.

Naif Al Malki
A graduate of University of Surrey, from the United Kingdom, with Business Management degree.

Lately he is more active, via his initiative; Youth Foundation, where they study cases in the community using critical thinking, then present them via a video, which can be seen in the internet.

He is comfortable; never get nervous, calm, and always smiling and throwing jokes here and there. He is on his best when he improvise, as you can see him as a standup comedian making jokes around.

Naif Al Malki

Interview with Naif Al Malki

DFI: Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.
Naif: First off, I would like to introduce the team I work with before introducing myself, because it’s been a while now, I am the only one in the picture, and I don’t want anyone to think that there Is only me putting in the effort here. Seriously, we have a great team that has helped the organisation get where it is today. I always feel happy when we meet, whether for work purposes or anything else. I would like to mention them all, but I am not sure there is enough space to thank them all, but I promise I will in the future.

My name is Naif Al-Malki. I am the founder of the Youth Foundation. It is still in the form of a youth club, but we have great aspirations and we will expand to more than a youth club. Work is believing in the power of change for a better life. It is the belief that everyone has a role in the process of change and development. We believe that we were born for a reason and that we have a noble message. We are all leaders and responsible.

I knew that I will participate in the change, a long time ago. I dream of becoming Superman, someday. Opportunities come and go, but on the other hand, we can create our own opportunities in life. I had an opportunity, I took it and I also created one to establish the Youth Foundation.

In the Foundation, we have specific values that we do not break. Everything we do should be logical and well planned. Every word is an idea or an invitation; we’re not limited to realising ideas, our foundation is more than that. This is why every project we take on, needs at least, one month of planning. Shooting takes one or two days, only.

DFI: Why did you chose this field?
Naif: Honestly, it never occurred to me that I would work in the media. I was never interested in the media, but it seems that opportunities can change the individuals’ interests. People adapt with the opportunities they get, to achieve their dreams. Since the day it was conceived, the idea of the foundation itself, has changed so many times. I had planned for a certain path to engage in, and a certain theme for the foundation’s objective. But plans can always change, as long as the goal Is the same. The media is a powerful tool. So many people underestimate its great power. It was only rational to approach media to reach what I aspire for.

DFI: What inspires you the most in life?
Naif: Everything… seriously everything.. I could be driving around and suddenly inspired by someone else on the street. I could be listening to a song that can inspire a certain project or a new idea. I could be looking at a photo album that inspires me to launch a campaign or shoot a video. This is what happened exactly when the idea of “Live for Them” was born. Life is beautiful and full of joy and grief. Everything is an inspiration to us.

DFI: Tell us more about the challenges you face.
Naif: Too many challenges to mention. The most striking is shooting a video. Shooting is forbidden in many places. There are other big challenges, but it is useless to talk about them once again. However, challenge is one important factor, it stimulates creativity.

DFI: What is your advice to those aspiring for happiness?
Naif: Deep thinking leads to a dead end. There is a difference between wise and deep thinking, and we should not mix up between them.

Aisha Al Nasser and Hamda Al Hitmi
Two active students from Qatar University who loves volunteering and community service.

In 2010 they founded SANAD without any material support but with their own money and efforts.. SANAD is an Arabic word which means “Supporter” who supports those in needs. Based on that idea SANAD team gives back to the world by encouraging the youth to volunteer and make a difference in their community. Recently they received recognition as an organization and they work under the support of Selatek institution. They have more than 60 members and 1000 participants. Some of their projects: Hospitals, orphanage, beach cleaning and tree planting trips. They do workshops and distribute free food for workers.

Aisha Al Nasser and Hamda Al Hitmi

Interview with Aisha Al Nasser and Hamda Al Hitmi

DFI: Tell us a bit about yourselves and your work
Aisha and Hamda: We are two students at Qatar University, Aisha Al-Nasr studying at the College of Business and Economics (CBE), and Hamda Al-Hitmi at the College of Law. We are two girls who have passion for volunteering work, community service, and we are active youths.

In 2010, we have launched our project “Sanad for Community Service”, which has become a youth organisation including more than 60 volunteering members and 1000 participants. Our goal is to incite young males and females to try volunteering even once in a lifetime, so they can experience its outcome both mentally and socially. At Sanad, we provide theoretical and practical experiences to participants. We believe that community service has a great impact on the youths’ mentality and the society they live in. this is where change begins, and this is how community develops and prospers. Until this moment, we have organised more than 20 community events, which all meet the targets of Qatar National Vision 2030.

DFI: Why did you choose this field?
Aisha and Hamda: Volunteering and community service are great at inciting people’s creativity according to their specialties. This is a field you can learn and benefit from and gain a lot of experiences. This is what we have learned about volunteering. It helps the youths discover their potentials and raises their awareness.

Community service has a great impact on one’s psyche, especially when someone you’ve helped smiles at you.. it makes you happy. And each time you finish a project, you feel unprecedented satisfaction and accomplishment.

DFI: What inspires you?
Aisha and Hamda: We are inspired by our message in life and the cause behind our very existence. We exist to worship God and build planet earth. By doing what we do, we are maintaining the cause of our existence, and this injects in us the will and devotion to accomplish. Sanad is just the beginning of what we aspire for in life, as we aim for greater achievements inside and outside Qatar.

And because we have passion for what we do, no matter how long we spend working, it is still a fun experience. We always aim to learn more.

DFI: Tell us about the challenges.
Aisha and Hamda: It is sure not easy to work in this field, especially when we start planning for a project and implementing it afterwards. We have to oversee everything. It is difficult for us to find a place to meet. So we were looking for a place, and then we found Bidaya Centre, which was provided by Selatak foundation, which also guided us through work and strategic planning.

Finding a sponsor for each event is a challenge, as well. It needs time and lots of efforts. In some cases, members of Sanad provide funding from their own pockets. But nothing comes easy in life, and these challenges enrich our experience.

DFI: What is your advice to those who aspire for happiness?
Aisha and Hamda: Happiness is when you see your work developing day after day, you see what was a project plan become an organisation that has many members. You see this place filled with a positive energy, and people are eager to work and plan for projects. You see Sanad become a part of their lives, we become more than a team, we become one family, where everyone is proud of each other and happy for the others’ success. Those who want happiness should proceed with work, because happiness doesn’t happen to those standing still, it happens with lots of effort , work and devotion. This is the secret of happiness.

To volunteer at Sanad, email: sanad.qatar@gmail.com or get in touch with us via Twitter: @sanadqatar or Facebook: مشروع سند التطوعي

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